Keynotes and workshops that blend storytelling, humor, and practical insight.
"Nathan is able to hold the attention of an audience."
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"Funny, serious, honest, grounded."
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"Nathan relates well to everyone."
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"Nathan is able to hold the attention of an audience." 〰️ "Funny, serious, honest, grounded." 〰️ "Nathan relates well to everyone." 〰️
Speaking Programs
Helping people discover and share meaningful stories that build connection, confidence, and community.
Storytelling That Connects
Stories help us make sense of our lives and connect with others in powerful ways. In this interactive workshop, I share a simple storytelling framework and guide participants in discovering meaningful stories from their own experiences.
Telling stories is not only fun — it can strengthen personal relationships, make you a more effective communicator (whether you're leading a team, selling an idea, or building community), and help create a culture of connection within organizations and groups.
Participants will learn how to:
Identify meaningful stories from everyday life
Structure stories using a simple storytelling framework
Learn to use stories to strengthen connection and communicate ideas
This session works well for retreats, conferences, leadership gatherings, and community groups.
Resilient for Real Life
Stories, Strategies, and Simple Tools for Building Resilience and Rediscovering Joy
Life gets heavy sometimes. Stress, change, and unexpected challenges can leave people feeling overwhelmed, burned out, and running on empty.
In this engaging keynote or workshop, I share stories, practical strategies, and simple tools that help people stay grounded, reconnect with what matters, and navigate hard seasons with humor and hope.
Participants explore how to:
Stay grounded when stress and pressure build
Strengthen connections that support resilience
Rediscover joy and meaning in everyday life
The ideas in this session draw from my REACT framework, a practical approach to responding to life’s challenges with humor, connection, purpose, and whole-self care.
This session works well for conferences, leadership gatherings, retreats, and teams navigating demanding seasons.
All programs are fully customizable to meet your audience’s goals and event theme.
More About Me & What I do
I’m Nathan Mugaas, a Minnesota-based speaker, humorist, and storyteller. I help people discover, shape, and share meaningful stories that build connection. Through engaging keynotes and interactive workshops, I blend storytelling, humor, and practical tools to create experiences that are meaningful, memorable, and a lot of fun.
As a Lutheran pastor, I’ve spent nearly two decades telling stories and helping people find meaning and connection in the stuff of everyday life. I currently serve as Lead Pastor at Elk River Lutheran Church in Elk River, Minnesota. While my work as a pastor shapes the way I see the world, my speaking meets people wherever they are, with genuine curiosity, care, and respect.
In 2025, I was honored to be chosen as the National Speakers Association Minnesota Chapter Last Story Standing Champion. I love telling funny, heartfelt stories with a purpose, and I feel fortunate to be recognized by my peers and mentors in this way.
My greatest sources of joy, stress, frustration, inspiration, and purpose are my three boys and my amazing wife, Annie. Together, we love traveling, eating out, movie nights, spending time outdoors, cruising in our vintage Volkswagen Beetle, and playfully teasing each other.
Let’s talk about your event
I’d love to explore how I can help make your event memorable, energizing, and impactful.
I’m known for being fun, easy to work with, and highly reliable — so you can focus on your audience while I deliver an unforgettable program.
Call/Text 763-242-8347